SAN FRANCISCO – Veteran Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet had a straight, no chaser message to his teammates who have a deciding Game 7 on the horizon.
“’Stay focused. One more. We ain’t did s— yet. One more,’ ” VanVleet told Andscape after scoring a game-high 29 points and dishing eight assists in the Rockets’ 115-107 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 on Friday night at Chase Center that evened the best-of-seven series at 3-3.
The Western Conference’s second-seeded Rockets and the seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors will play in a deciding Game 7 of their first round series tonight in Houston. The winner will face the sixth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have played in five Game 7s while teammate Jimmy Butler has played in four. Meanwhile, VanVleet has played in two Game 7s and the rest of the Rockets’ starting five will be playing in their first.
With a Rockets team averaging 26 years of age, VanVleet’s cool and calm leadership has been very important for this team. The 2019 NBA champion’s leadership will certainly be needed tonight in the biggest game in many of his teammate’s careers.
“He’s leading us on the court, off the court and we’ve been letting him do that,” Rockets All-Star center Alperen Sengun said after Game 6. “So, even when he wasn’t playing this [season], he was still leading us. He was saying, ‘I don’t want to talk. I hate talking when I’m not playing.’ But still, we needed that. And he came back, leading us all time. And we let him do that.”
The following is a Q&A with VanVleet following the Game 6 win over the Warriors about the keys to being, the improvement in his play the second half of the series, the needed mentality going into a deciding Game 7 and more.
Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet (left) and forward Amen Thompson (right) high five in front of Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (center) during the third quarter of Game 5 of the Western Conference first round at Toyota Center on April 30 in Houston.
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Who taught you how to be a leader?
Probably a mix between my pops, my stepdad and my high school coach, coach [Bryant] Ott. But I always was naturally a leader of my friends and my teams. But I used to be way more a [expletive] in terms of telling my teammates they suck and just being an [expletive] as a young teenager.
But those two helped me understand different people need different messages. And so, I started to work on that probably my sophomore year of high school and started trying to practice approaching different people different ways.
Who was the best leader you learned from when you played previously for the Toronto Raptors and ultimately won a title in 2019?
Obviously, Kyle [Lowry]. He had a different way of doing things. So, I try to take as much good as I can and leave the bad. And [Raptors vice chairman and president] Masai [Ujiri] was also a great leader that I studied. It’s different. It’s not like in the locker room, but I watched him lead the organization and just watched him on a daily basis. So, I give both of those guys credit and I stole as much as I could from them. I try to learn from anybody. I watch everybody.
How do your younger Rockets teammates listen to what you have to say?
Great, great. It really only depends on how they take the message. You could be a great leader and people don’t listen to you. It don’t matter. But they were receptive, they were ready for it. And it made my job easier because they were just little puppies. They were so hungry and ready for the moment. They would just take whatever I do and run through a brick wall. It was perfect, like the perfect matchup.
Have you been impressed by how the younger Rockets have been unfazed in this playoff series against the Warriors?
I expected it. We got so much talent just as long as they don’t get sidetracked. Game 1 it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And then Game 3 on the road was a little shaky. But other than that, they are so good. Just go out there and play your game. I just try to keep them calm and keep them focused on just playing the game. Don’t get worried about all the other stuff.
And that’s where I think their youth can benefit, is being naive almost to the environment. They don’t really even understand what’s at stake. So, it’s like as long as we go out there and hoop, we’ll be all right.
What is the key to success in Game 7 at home in the Toyota Center?
If we just try to keep a focus on the details, if we lock into the game plan and do what we supposed to do… We play fast, we play aggressive, and you just go out there and leave it all on the line. But we’ve been playing elimination games now for the last two. The building will be up there and antsy. As it is, they won’t know until we get in that situation. But again, I expect them to rise to the occasion.
You put together three consecutive playoff games with 25 points or more the past three games of the series after averaging 11.3 points per game the first three. What has been the difference?
Just being more aggressive. Reading how they are guarding me. Been able to find a rhythm.
Looking back on your decision to sign with the Rockets in 2023, is it what you expected?
It is pretty much what I expected. You never know how it’s going to play out. But I’m just happy with the chemistry and the vibe and it is a match made in heaven as far as they were ready for me, I was ready for them. It’s perfect timing and I feel like I’m the perfect match for these guys to boost them up and let them go do their thing. And if they lean on me nights like [Game 6] when they need it, I kind of steady the ship a little bit. So, it’s been perfect.
